Five ways that remote work supports your organisation's sustainability goals

The demand for increased flexibility and a new way of working is how the work culture has been growing in the last decade or so. However, up until a few years, it was perceived as an ‘occasional thing’ rather than routine – such as freelancing, for example, or a side hustle.

Today, remote working is the norm among many organisations, especially since the pandemic, and statistics indicate that 88% of worldwide companies either encourage or have made it mandatory for employees to work remotely after the pandemic.

5 top benefits of remote working

Less greenhouse gases

One of the most significant advantages of working remotely is that you save a lot of time, money and energy, which is otherwise spent on commuting to the office.

By simply working from home, companies can effectively reduce their carbon footprint. A report released by Global Workplace Analytics showed that due to remote working, 600,000 cars were taken off the road for a year; in the same report, it was revealed that by working from home, carbon emissions can be reduced by 54 million tonnes a year.

Lower consumption of fossil fuels

Fossil fuel, a common power source for electricity, heat and transformation, has had a considerable effect on climate change and global warming. Since people started working remotely, there’s been a drastic decrease in the consumption of fossil fuels.

In fact, an analysis released by Cyprus Transmission System Operator (CTSO) showed that in the first quarter of 2020, there was a 25% reduction in fossil fuel consumption, so working from home means there’s a significant decrease in electricity, fuel and heat consumption, saving our planet’s dwindling non-renewable energy sources and cutting down the impact they have on the environment.

Better quality of air

Large industrial and commercial businesses allowing their workers to work from home means a temporary reduction in air pollution levels around the globe. In fact, thanks to the digitalisation of work, far less paper is needed – every tree saved can essentially get rid of 6.7 kg of carbon dioxide from the air.

Less greenhouse gas emissions mean we get better, more breathable air. And, even though this temporary reduction may not mean much at first, the amount of air pollution it has reduced since the pandemic has been dramatic, to say the least.

Less office supplies

A decreased use of office supplies means a very major reduction of paper use, as we pointed out earlier. Just a single day spent working inside an office can see a lot of physical office resources being used, with paper being the centre of attention.

As a result of reduced paper and general office supplies, we have already seen a highly positive effect on the environment. On average, Great Britain consumes around 5M tonnes of plastic each year. By doing away with that, we are saving our marine life and also playing our part in reducing the global plastic waste crisis.

Lower population shift rate

Did you know that at least 5% of all greenhouse gases in the UK are due to deforestation? The main culprit here is the population shift in big UK cities due to career transitions and opportunities. People in rural areas enjoy a peaceful and healthy lifestyle; however, workers must migrate to metros to reduce their daily commute expenses and time.

With remote working, people can still earn their livelihood while continuing to live in remote and rural areas. This kind of decentralisation improves the quality of life for economic migrants, as well as those living in greener and less populated cities – not to mention the reduction in greenhouse gases.